Excellergy to be acquired by Novartis for up to $2 billion

Acquisition to advance potentially first-in-class trifunctional effector cell response inhibitors

Mar. 27, 2026 at 6:05am

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Excellergy, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of allergy therapeutics, announced it will be acquired by Novartis in a transaction with a total potential value of up to $2 billion in upfront and milestone payments. The acquisition brings together Excellergy's novel trifunctional effector cell response inhibitors (ECRIs) with the development expertise of Novartis.

Why it matters

The acquisition validates the potential of Excellergy's ECRIs and will allow the combined company to leverage Novartis' global development capabilities to bring these novel allergy treatments to patients. Exl-111, Excellergy's lead ECRI candidate, is designed to go beyond conventional anti-IgE therapy and has the potential to deliver faster and deeper suppression of IgE signaling as well as improved symptom control for patients with severe, debilitating allergic diseases.

The details

Exl-111 is a trifunctional ECRI designed to disarm allergic effector cells at the source of activation by targeting the IgE axis. Exl-111 is currently being evaluated in the Phase 1 DISARM trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single and multiple ascending dose trial, with the first subjects dosed in early February 2026.

  • Exl-111 entered Phase 1 DISARM trial in early February 2026.
  • Excellergy was seeded in 2021 by Red Tree Venture Capital.

The players

Excellergy

A biotechnology company developing a novel class of allergy therapeutics, including the potentially first-in-class trifunctional effector cell response inhibitor (ECRI) Exl-111.

Novartis

A global pharmaceutical company that is acquiring Excellergy to advance the development of Excellergy's novel ECRI portfolio.

Todd Zavodnick

Chief Executive Officer of Excellergy.

Fiona Marshall

President of Biomedical Research at Novartis.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“This acquisition validates the transformative potential of our ECRIs and the hard work of the entire Excellergy team. Novartis brings world-class global development capabilities and a proven track record of bringing novel medicines to patients. Together, we will be ideally positioned to realize the full potential of Exl-111 and the broader ECRI pipeline for the millions of patients living with severe, debilitating allergic diseases.”

— Todd Zavodnick, Chief Executive Officer of Excellergy

“Excellergy adds a differentiated next-generation anti-IgE program that builds on biology Novartis knows well, supported by preclinical evidence and early clinical pharmacokinetic data. Exl-111 is designed to go beyond conventional anti-IgE therapy, with the potential to deliver faster and deeper suppression of IgE signaling as well as improved symptom control. This proposed acquisition strengthens our allergy portfolio and reflects our strategy of advancing innovative bold science to bring meaningful additional benefits to patients.”

— Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis

What’s next

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

The takeaway

This acquisition highlights the potential of Excellergy's novel trifunctional effector cell response inhibitors to transform the treatment of severe, debilitating allergic diseases. By combining Excellergy's innovative science with Novartis' global development expertise, the combined company is poised to advance these potentially first-in-class allergy therapies and deliver meaningful benefits to patients.